Raina Nessiel
'Appearance' See Picture! Points of Interest: Though normally a pale silver-grey, almost to the point of being white, Raina's eyes change when she experiences strong emotions. Anger and fear make her eyes grow dark, almost the color of gunmetal; pleasant emotions tend to give them a more blue-green sheen. The Blue Lions know that when Raina's eyes are dark, it is best to tread with caution. Raina hardly ever smiles. 'Personality' Though a fair and impartial leader of the Blue Lions, Raina Nessiel has something of a reputation for being hard. It is not often that she partakes in the celebrations of Taelarys or the Vale, and she has very few friends. It is due to a fear of allowing others to grow close to her that Raina has closed herself off; being of a breed of creatures with uncommonly long lives, she finds it incredibly difficult to befriend those that die swiftly. (It should be noted, though, that Raina finds it incredibly hard to grow close to anyone, regardless of expected lifespan, as she views the world as a nasty, brutish place, where the chance of dying at any moment is incredibly high.) Still, there are a few close relationships that she has forged, and for those people Raina will drop her guard, smile, and open herself up. She is intelligent and shrewd; as the leader of the Blue Lions, she takes her position very seriously. The safety of both her "employees" and the people who have paid for protection is very important to her; though she does not often outwardly express it, the loss of one of her people is very hard on her. 'History' Raina was born into a typical Eladrin clan group, consisting of three to four families interspersed amongst each other; the birth of children was rare, so her arrival was a source of great celebration. From the time she was a child, she was educated in reading and writing, as well as the less-obvious lessons that were learned from the forest she grew up in. How to move silently, so as not to alert prey; how to observe quietly from the shadows, and the art of walking the trees. Lithe, graceful, and agile, Raina grew from a beloved child to a beloved young adult in the safety of her clan, and it was believed that when the Huntsmaster chose to retire, she would be his choice of replacement. Unfortunately, she was never to find out if that was true or not. On the eve of her sixty-fifth birthday, she was awoken by a sound like thunder, and screams from outside her window; Raina was out of bed in an instant, the acrid smell of smoke making her sneeze. Her clan-home was on fire, the Eladrin she'd known her entire life screaming, burning, dying...pursued by shadowy figures that even her eyes could not see. And when one of them looked up at her, catching her eyes, she felt as though she was dying inside, as though her soul was shriveling in fear at the look. She ran. A thing she would never be proud of, but it enabled her to survive; she ran for hours, until she nearly collapsed from exhaustion. She had nothing but her bow and the sword strapped at her side, but in the first semi-large town she found she managed to get herself hired on as a caravan escort. After several years of traveling, she wound up in Taelarys; she affiliated herself with the Blue Lions almost immediately, admiring their ethics but at the same time seeing how she could improve them. And improve them she did, when the old leader was caught by surprise and killed; she honed them like a weapon, and made them into the respected--if not quite legal--force that they are. And still, sometimes, she wakes up in cold sweats at night, the screams of her people echoing in her ears, and those empty black eyes peering into the depths of her soul... 'Advantages' *'Agility II (Common): '''In Raina's case, this stems from learning how to walk quietly, and how to run through the tree-branches of her childhood home. She is incredibly graceful, able to move swiftly and to climb the walls and buildings of the city as easily as climbing a tree; it also allows her to (usually) dodge the attacks of common bully-boys, though stronger, more determined challengers are a threat. *'Beauty (Rare)' - Beautiful/Handsome characters garner attention with no effort. It's never easy to rebuke the affection of a Beautiful character. Raina does not often use her beauty, or even acknowledge that she ''is beautiful; to some, that makes her all the more appealing. *'Intelligence II (Common): '''An intelligent character in this day and age is smart, knows how to plan well, and has broad knowledge of a variety of subjects, but doesn't really specialize in any of them unless a separate advantage is taken. They are also much better at understanding and remembering new information, being quick studies. This reflects, in Raina, as an almost-photographic knowledge of the city streets, as well as a general understanding of its architecture and construction; she's well-read, can write, and has a fairly solid knowledge of the political business of Taelarys. *'Cunning II (Common): Cunning characters are wily and adapt quickly to new situations. They are able to use the environment to their advantage in battle, develop strategies on the fly and are all around quick studies. Raina has quickly adapted to Taelarys, and has a solid understanding of strategy and how best to optimize her position in the city. *The Blue Lions (Followers: Fighter II (Common)): The Blue Lions are Raina's troops, and she has an escort of anywhere between one and five at any time depending on the situation. They obey her unquestioningly, and are loyal to a fault. **The Blue Lions guards have the '''Fighter advantage. They have knowledge and expertise in a broad range of weapons and are experienced in both individual and squad-level fighting tactics, meaning that they work as well together as they do apart. *'Elven Weapon Training II (Uncommon):' Being trained as a replacement for Clan Sunleaf's huntsmaster enables Raina to have skill with both the elven longbow and the rapier. This makes her a strong opponent in both close and ranged combat, though she obviously cannot use both weapons at the same time. 'Linked Story Elements' *'The Blue Lions' *'Eladrin (Grey Elves)' *'Fortress of the Rose' *'Clan Sunleaf'